Is there a time when...

I think there is a time when you can let them go. I have never been able to do it all at once unless there was someone very jelous who did it for me. I have always just slowly over time let one piece at a time go. I find things from the past and trash it, each year it gets easier and easier.

I'm not sure about that, I get ride of some soon after it's over but I keep other things, as I'm still not committed to anyone I guess I will keep holding on to a few items until I'm sure that I'm with the right one and old things/memories may only cause trouble/complications then it would be the right time to get ride of it all..

As soon as it's over is good for me, all my ex's have the photos etc. I couldn't care less, to me I have my memories and do not need photos etc of the time before I got bored hanging around to make me feel guilty. It would probably be harder if we split up as over the last 7 years we chose most thing together or wnet halves on them, so I'd probably lethim take anything he wanted. I'm not a mterialistic person really, possessions can always be replaced.

I am afraid to say I'm a cold fish in that department and I never keep things that have been given to me by past lovers and partners, the only thing I keep is the good memories which are locked in my head, and songs that remind me of them. I did keep a soft toy from my ex, it was a piglet we had bought together, I had escaped the trapped relationship and the piglet was a symbol and I knew I thought more of that stuffed toy than he did, so I took him on the last day I packed my stuff and left, it was like the piglet was being freed to! I still have him, he doesn't represent sadness but a symbol of freedom.

Well, I thin that all those mementos are what has shaped you into the person you are today. If it was a hurtful relationship that you want to forget about completely and move on, then by all means destroy it all. However, there are those good memories that you want to remember and you should hang on to them as logn as you like. Besides, some of those items make good story telling. My husband and I still pull out the old memory albums and talk about stupid stuff we did and who we did it with. It's good to be able to share that with someone. It's good to hang on to the good memories. Only the insecure have problems with you keeping your good memories.

I usually keep things of significance - like letters, cards, etc. But once a year come new year, I would clear my drawers and decide again if I should still keep those things. How I decide would be how unique and special those things are, as well as the place this person has in my heart.

I don't throw those things right away after the breakup. I just let it stay where it is, and I deal with those things after a few weeks, when everything had settled. Those that I don't need ( I find no reason to be sentimental about the stuffs, so I just classify them as "useful" or "not"), I just give away. But I keep things that may be of use to me in the future.

dont' throw them out in a fit of anger! The best thing to do is after you break up you put them away in a box somewhere, and then many years later, you go through that box (and you may have other "ex boxes" at that time too) and decide then, when you are not emotionally involved, what you want to keep and what you want to toss. Anything that makes you laugh, you keep, anything that makes you sad or angry, there is no reason but to toss it out.

I kept mine for a while up my loft,but i found someone new got married to her so the past mementos i had have no place in my life i moved on from their.So they got tossed in the bin,now i have new mementos and new happy memories. Answer to your question is theirs no set time just when ever you feel it's time to move on